isprs archives XLI B5 323 2016

The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Volume XLI-B5, 2016
XXIII ISPRS Congress, 12–19 July 2016, Prague, Czech Republic

THREE-DIMENSIONAL RECORDING OF BASTION MIDDLEBURG
MONUMENT USING TERRESTRIAL LASER SCANNER
Z. Majid*, C.L. Lau, A.R. Yusoff
Photogrammetry and Laser Scanning Research Group, Faculty of Geoinformation and Real Estate, Universiti Teknologi
Malaysia – zulkeplimajid@utm.my, lauchongluh@utm.my, ahmadrazali@utm.my
Commission V/2

KEY WORDS: Three-dimensional, Historical Monument, Terrestrial Laser Scanning, Time-off-flight, Point Cloud

ABSTRACT:
This paper describes the use of terrestrial laser scanning for the full three-dimensional (3D) recording of historical
monument, known as the Bastion Middleburg. The monument is located in Melaka, Malaysia, and was built by the Dutch in
1660. This monument serves as a major hub for the community when conducting commercial activities in estuaries Malacca
and the Dutch build this monument as a control tower or fortress. The monument is located on the banks of the Malacca
River was built between Stadhuys or better known as the Red House and Mill Quayside. The breakthrough fort on 25
November 2006 was a result of the National Heritage Department through in-depth research on the old map. The recording
process begins with the placement of measuring targets at strategic locations around the monument. Spherical target was
used in the point cloud data registration. The scanning process is carried out using a laser scanning system known as a

terrestrial scanner Leica C10. This monument was scanned at seven scanning stations located surrounding the monument
with medium scanning resolution mode. Images of the monument have also been captured using a digital camera that is
setup in the scanner. For the purposes of proper registration process, the entire spherical target was scanned separately using
a high scanning resolution mode. The point cloud data was pre-processed using Leica Cyclone software. The pre-processing
process starting with the registration of seven scan data set through overlapping spherical targets. The post-process involved
in the generation of coloured point cloud model of the monument using third-party software. The orthophoto of the
monument was also produced. This research shows that the method of laser scanning provides an excellent solution for
recording historical monuments with true scale of and texture.

1.

INTRODUCTION

The paper describes the use of terrestrial laser scanning
system for the 3D documentation of historical monument
known as Bastion Middleburg located in Malacca State,
Malaysia. The aim of the research is to evaluate the use
of terrestrial laser scanning system known as High
Definition Survey Leica C10 for recording and
documentation of historical monument. The Leica C10

system is classified as a time-off-flight system that
provides the scanning at 360 degree horizontal angle and
270 degree vertical angle with the scanning resolution of
50,000 points per second. The Bastion Middleburg
monuments were scanned at seven scanning stations
including two scanning stations located on top of the
monument. The final output of the scanning job is the
3D coloured point cloud of the monument.

2. TERRESTRIAL LASER SCANNING FOR
HERITAGE DOCUMENTATION
A laser scanning 3D measurement system can be divided
in three categories which are airborne laser scanning,
terrestrial laser scanning and mobile laser scanning. The
terrestrial laser scanning system can also categorised as
time-off-light based system, phase-based system and
triangulation-based system. All the three terrestrial laser
scanning system is differed in scanning distance which
also known as scanning range, scanning resolution and


scanning accuracy. Table 1 shows the comparison
between the three types terrestrial laser scanning systems.
Type of
Terrestrial
Laser
Scanning
Time-OffFlight-Based
Phase-Based

Scanning
Distance
(m)

Scanning
Resolution
(number of
points per
second)
50,000


Scanning
Accuracy
(mm)

300
6mm
(maximum)
120
900,000
4mm
(maximum)
Triangulation2.5
300,000
Micron
Based
(maximum)
Table 1. Comparison between the three types of
terrestrial laser scanning systems
With the measurement accuracy that can be provided by
the terrestrial laser scanning system (as shown above),

the system were used in many applications. The main
reason why researchers used terrestrial laser scanning
system is to record the real geometry and structure of the
objects especially in 3D form. In other word, terrestrial
laser scanning can provides a successful recording of 3D
and complex objects. The time-off-flight and phasebased system were used to record the 3D object such as
building, structures like bridge and railway station, while
the triangulation-based system were used to capture
small 3D object such as human face and historical
artefacts.

This contribution has been peer-reviewed.
doi:10.5194/isprsarchives-XLI-B5-323-2016

323

The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Volume XLI-B5, 2016
XXIII ISPRS Congress, 12–19 July 2016, Prague, Czech Republic

Terrestrial laser scanning system has been used to

measure and record the geometry and structure of the
historical buildings and monuments all over the world.
According to Gonzalez J.A et al (2010), terrestrial laser
scanning can be used to detect the damage of the
historical building. The research involves with the
development of the appropriate methodology to study
damages on stony materials that constitute historical
buildings.
The methodology was tested using an
intensity data that was derived from the laser scanner
data with different technical specifications. The output
of the study shows that the intensity data derived from
the laser scanning technique potential to be used for the
recognition and characterization of certain pathologies in
building materials that constitute historical buildings.
According to Entwistle J.A et al (2009), terrestrial laser
scanning can be used in the investigation of historical
Scottish farming townships through the threedimensional (3D) visualization method. Terrestrial laser
scanner can also be used to create photo-realistic virtual
copies of landscapes and archaeological features. The

study also involves with the development of the
methodology for the integration of a high resolution 3D
site model with soil chemical data obtained from
abandoned settlement site located in the Central
Highlands Scotland.
Terrestrial laser scanning is also used to effectively
produce accurate and high resolution 3D models of a
cave with engravings dating back to the Upper
Palaeolithic era (Lerma J.L et al, 2010). For a complete
mapping of the complexity cave, terrestrial laser
scanning
was
integrates
with
close-range
photogrammetric method to produce traditional drawings
such as sections and elevations, including photo-realistic
data in 3D perspective view. The study found that the
3D data acquired from the laser scanner improved
archaeological understanding of complex caves and relief

panels of prehistoric art with tiny engravings.
According to Zhang Y et al (2015), the terrestrial laser
scanning technology have been used for the 3D mapping
of historic buildings in China for the purpose of the
development of historical database. The terrestrial laser
scanning system was used to acquire 3D point cloud data
of Shang Su Di, a Ming Dynasty building which is an
officially protected heritage site in China. The study also
involves a detail mapping of historical building
component. The 2D drawing of the component was
derived from the 3D point cloud data using CAD
software.

3.

METHODOLOGY

The methodology implemented in the recording of the
Bastion Middleburg monument consists of three phases
which are:

a)
b)
c)

Phase 1 involves with planning of laser
scanning survey
Phase 2 involves with data collection
Phase 3 involves with data processing

The planning for the laser scanning survey is the very
important phase in this research. The planning stage
involves with the determination of the scanning targets
and the scanning stations. For a very accurate laser
scanning survey, the sphere targets were used. The
numbers of 14 sphere targets were setup at ten different
locations surrounding the monument. For the purpose of
accurate registration process, some of the target was
located at the higher locations on the monument. The
monument was scanned from seven scanning stations
including two stations located on top of the monument.

Figure 1 shows the location of the sphere targets and the
scanning stations.

Figure 1. Planning for laser scanning survey – the
location of scanning stations and sphere targets
As mentioned earlier, the laser scanning process was
carried out using Leica C10 terrestrial laser scanner. The
medium scanning resolution was used in the scanning
process. The laser scanning process took 20 minutes per
scanning station. The images of the monument were also
captured using a built-in digital camera inside the laser
scanner. Figure 2 shows the scanning process from one
of the scanning station.

Calin M et al (2015) used terrestrial laser scanning
technology for the purpose of University building
conservation for UNESCO recognition.
The old
university building located in the USAMV Bucharest
campus was scanned using terrestrial laser scanning

technology to develop a 3D digital model. The 3D
information database was also developed to store the 3D
model data for assessment and evaluation.
Figure 2. The scanning process from one of the scanning
station

This contribution has been peer-reviewed.
doi:10.5194/isprsarchives-XLI-B5-323-2016

324

The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Volume XLI-B5, 2016
XXIII ISPRS Congress, 12–19 July 2016, Prague, Czech Republic

At data processing phase, the research involves with preprocessing and post-processing stages.
The preprocessing stage involves with the registration of
scanning data and data cleaning. The registration process
was carried out using the sphere targets. At least three
sphere targets were used to merge two scanning data.
The algorithm that was built in the cyclone software
measure the centroid coordinates of the sphere target
from different view. This capability makes sphere target
is the best target to be used in laser scanning survey. The
post-processing stage involves with the generation of
coloured point cloud data. In the generation of coloured
point cloud data, the images taken during the scanning
process was mapped on top of the 3D point cloud data of
the monument.
4.

Figure 6. The details of the point cloud data of the front
part of the monument
Figure 7 and Figure 8 shows the visualization of the
coloured point cloud data from side view and top view of
the monument.

RESULTS AND ANALYSIS

In this research, the output of the scanning is visualized
as a coloured point cloud data. Figure 3 shows the
coloured point cloud data of the Bastion Middleburg
monument.

Figure 7. The coloured point cloud data of the side part
of the monument
Figure 3. The coloured point cloud data of the Bastion
Middleburg monument
The advantage of the laser scanning output is the
capability of viewing the 3D coloured point cloud data in
many views. Figure 4 shows the viewing of the scanning
output from perspective view.

Figure 4. Visualizing of Bastion Middleburg monuments
point cloud data from perspective view

Figure 8. The coloured point cloud data of the top part of
the monument
For the analysis part, the simple comparison analysis was
carried out by comparing the laser scanning coloured
point cloud data with the image of the real object
(monument). The image of the real object was acquired
using high resolution digital camera. Figure 9 shows the
simple comparison analysis result.

Apart from that, the resolution of the scanning data
allows the user to get the details of each part of the
structure of the monument. Figure 5 and Figure 6 shows
the details of the scanning data of the monument.

Figure 5. The details of the point cloud data of the
monument

Figure 9. Simple comparison analysis between the real
object (a), and the coloured point cloud data (b)

This contribution has been peer-reviewed.
doi:10.5194/isprsarchives-XLI-B5-323-2016

325

The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Volume XLI-B5, 2016
XXIII ISPRS Congress, 12–19 July 2016, Prague, Czech Republic

Figure 9 show that the laser scanning method delivers the
similar geometry and structure of the monument. From
the visualization aspect, the similarity between the laser
scanning data and the real object can be considered as a
perfect match. The problem with the coloured point
cloud data is the tone of the texture. This problem may
happen because of the resolution of the built in camera
inside the laser scanner. This problem can be solved by
combining the laser scanning data with the images
acquire from external digital camera with high resolution
capabilities.

5.

CONCLUSION

The paper describes the experience of using terrestrial
laser scanning technology for the 3D documentation of
historical monument known as the Bastion Middleburg.
The number of seven scanning stations and fourteen
sphere targets was used in the scanning survey. The final
output from the laser scanning task is the 3D coloured
point cloud of the monument with true scale and texture.
As conclusion, the terrestrial laser scanning technology
has proven to be the best data acquisition technique for
recording of historical monument.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Entwistle J.A, McCaffrey K.J.W and Abrahams P.W
(2009), Three-dimensional (3D) Visualization: The
Application of Terrestrial Laser Scanning in the
Investigation of Historic Scottish Farming Townships,
Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 36, Issue 3,
March 2009, pages 860-866.
Gonzalez J.A, Rodriguez B.R, Aguilera D.G and Brea
M.T.R (2010), Terrestrial Laser Scanning Intensity Data
Applied to Damage Detection for Historical Buildings,
Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 37, Issue 12,
December 2010, pages 3037-3047.
Lerma J.L, Navarro S, Cabrelles M and Villaverde V
(2010), Terrestrial Laser Scanning and Close-Range
Photogrammetry for 3D Archaeological Documentation:
The Upper Palaeolithic Cave of Parpallo As A Case
Study.
Zhang Y, Zhang Y, Shen Z, Nishino T and Chen X
(2015), 3D Laser Scanning Technology-based Historic
Building
Mapping
for
Historic
Preservation,
International Review For Spatial Planning and
Sustainable Development, Vol. 3, No. 2 (2015), 53-67.

The output from this research will be used as a
benchmark for the UAV LiDAR survey using Phoenix
AL3 System that was fully funded by the Ministry of
Higher Education Malaysia under research vot 4L149.

REFERENCES
Calin M, Erghelegiu B, Manea R, Virsta A and Salagean
T (2015), University Building Conservation Using
Terrestrial Laser Scanning Technique, Buletin UASVM
Horticulture 72(1)/2015 (ISSN 1843-5254).

This contribution has been peer-reviewed.
doi:10.5194/isprsarchives-XLI-B5-323-2016

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